Supergirl, Review: A Girl Who Beats Up a Bunch of Idiotic Guys? Don’t Miss It
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Part The Big Lebowski, part Dragon Ball. A tattered trench coat and blonde hair. To put it bluntly, Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl works. And how it works. Pure entertainment—the kind that doesn’t shy away from a certain emotional depth while still delivering a healthy dose of spectacle. As is the sacrosanct rule. It works because cinema—and pop culture—needs heroines like this. To create a legend, ignite a dream, and play with the comic book universe to make it, in some way, even more three-dimensional.
Human substance, we might say, and vivid in capturing the human profile behind the mask—thanks in part (and perhaps above all?) to the writing of Ana Nogueira, who drew inspiration from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. And yes, following the mind-blowing Superman of 2025, Supergirl is proof of just how well DC’s new direction is shaping up, capturing the colorful and exuberant vision of James Gunn—that visionary creator who managed to turn the franchise’s fortunes around. A saga that, as Gillespie’s excellent title demonstrates, definitely has a lot to say.
Supergirl, on a mission for… Krypto
Part of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, Supergirl—as confirmed by Gunn—is set chronologically between Superman and Man of Tomorrow. The protagonist, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock: a star is born), has just turned 23. She wanders the galaxy, between one drunken binge and another brawl, accompanied by her faithful Krypto.
Along the way, she meets the young Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), who is determined to avenge her family, who were killed by the bandit Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). Kara, initially reluctant to follow Ruthye’s plan for revenge (and Supergirl, wisely, reflects on the concept of vengeance), is eventually drawn into the conflict when the bandit strikes Krypto with a poisoned arrow.
Kara, aka Supergirl? A Mirror of Gen Z
Several well-executed exchanges and a visual style that perfectly captures the dysfunctional distortions of a galaxy as dangerous as it is fragile make Supergirl a blockbuster to devour in one sitting. The film, incidentally, makes no secret of its visual and conceptual references to Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, even though they’re tied to a clearly competing major studio. Following I, Tonya and Cruella, Craig Gillespie reaffirms himself as a director capable of capturing feminine nuances in the best possible way, giving them depth and personality.
After all, to make the incredible believable, you have to appeal to the heart and soul, creating a reflection in which the audience can see themselves—and, why not, even understand themselves a little. Kara Zor-El—with her cut-off roots, tousled hair, and love for her irrepressible Krypto (the driving force of the story)—is, specifically, searching for her own place in the world, caught between duty, freedom, and an awareness of her own powers. Those powers that, in the end, make heroes more vulnerable than one might think. A not-so-indirect reflection of Generation Z: lost, disconnected, yet idealistic and courageous. A generation, like Kara, that reaches for the sun.
A girl who really gives it to the dumb guys
As mentioned, there’s also the theme of revenge, and how misleading and overrated it can be: pain remains pain, even if it’s drowned in anger and blood. A concept that may be basic, but a vital reminder in a cinematic context that is obviously accessible and has a simple—but not simplistic—impact. It matters little, then, if the editing isn’t the smoothest, given the film’s relatively tight runtime (one hour and forty minutes), which is compensated for, however, by an effective soundtrack (Eagles of Death Metal, Wolf Alice, Rilo Kiley).
In short, Kara—aka Supergirl—who seeks the truth rather than goodness, unlike her cousin Clark Kent (who reappears in several scenes, including a dramatic flashback)—inspires and captivates, delivering a hard-hitting beating to a bunch of guys who couldn’t be any more idiotic. This alone would be enough to make Craig Gillespie’s film a must-see.
Conclusions
Milly Alcock’s Supergirl works brilliantly. Credit goes to the screenplay by Ana Nogueira and the direction of Craig Gillespie, who masterfully distills the unbelievable into the believable. It’s a story of dreams and humanity, for a comic-book universe that once again proves to be excellent cinematic material, becoming both a mirror and a distillation of Generation Z—a generation that may be disoriented and disconnected, but is also courageous and idealistic. Like Kara, it’s a generation reaching for the sun. And yes, Krypto is the driving force behind the story.
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